Letter: Orchestrated

Published 12:15 am Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Regarding the Clatsop County commission vote April 13 on short-term rentals:

Cove Beach is a small residential community just south of Arch Cape, located in Oswald West State Park and the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve. It is beautiful here, but the harmony of this beautiful community has been tarnished.

Over the past several years, a small group of homeowners have worked relentlessly to stop other homeowners from renting their homes as short-term rentals. This small group has orchestrated water board moratoriums based on inaccurate data, attempting to prevent new homes from being built.

Their efforts have caused commissioners, staff, volunteers and homeowners to spend thousands of hours — and our tax dollars — to shape Cove Beach to their liking. It appears their goal is that Cove Beach and Falcon Cove effectively become an exclusive gated community.

We own a small cottage home in Cove Beach, and we use it for family, friends and rentals. Prior to this, our family had been renting a home in Cannon Beach and Arch Cape for a week or two every summer since the 1940s.

We are proud to offer our Cove Beach cottage home to visitors to share this experience. Our guests follow good-neighbor policies and observe the rules the county has established for quiet time and night sky.

Like us, our guests and their children are grateful for the opportunity to have visited the Oregon Coast in this beautiful place.

We hope the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners will do the right thing for our community.

JOHN and MARIA MEYER

Cove Beach